[Question #10382] HIV And My Symptoms

23 months ago

Hello doctors, first of all, I have just discovered this forum and maybe it is a ray of hope for me to be answered by highly experienced, respected experts like you. I am a 21 year old bisexual male (mostly heterosexual) living in Turkey. I've had a lot of unprotected sex before. I was so unconscious. I've had sex with about 7-8 people before and none of them were protected and they were all extremely risky relationships. I've had sex with both men and women, and when I've had men, I've been under (below). I'm very scared of HIV right now. About 3.5 months ago (my last sexual intercourse) I had sexual intercourse with a man and 5 months before this intercourse the man had a minor surgery, HIV hepatitis and urine tests were negative. In my last relationship there was no penetration, only friction, oral sex and lovemaking. I had a HIV combo AG/AB blood test done on the 77th, 81st, 83rd, 89th and 92nd days after exposure (hepatitis B, C Vdrl tests were also checked on the 92nd day) and all results were negative. What is my risk of contracting HIV? I had ARS-like symptoms 2 weeks after exposure and now my lymph nodes are a little swollen and I have hair follicle inflammation all over, especially on my arms, it does not go away, I am constantly weak during the day, I have petechiae . I'm depressed and anxious, but I'm always extremely energetic when I go to the pool. . I swim quickly to the opposite lane without getting tired. Are these symptoms of HIV or AIDS? If I had AIDS would I have the energy to swim? sorry for the bad translation english...

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

23 months ago

Welcome to our forum. Thanks you for your confidence in our services and for your kind words. I think I can clear up your worries about HIV! (And no worries about your English: either you know it well or you found a good translation program.)

The HIV AgAb ("4th generation", "combo", "duo") blood tests are among the most accurate diagnostic tests ever developed for any medical condition. They are absolutely reliable at the times you were tested -- in fact you were over tested, because the AgAb tests are conclusive any time 45 days or more after the last possible exposure. The test results overrule all other considerations: no matter how high the risk of exposure to HIV at the time, and no matter what symptoms someone has, the test results can be relied with no exceptions. In addition to being conclusive at the times you were tested, the results specifically prove that your symptoms are not cause by HIV: it is never possible to have HIV symptoms and have a negative test result. It has never happened.

I'm very glad to hear your health is generally excellent. Of course you were at substantial risk for HIV, based on your sexual history, but you are not infected. I do hope, however, that these events have been a learning experience for you. I'm confident, because it is clear you already understand the risks your took and your luck in avoiding HIV. In the future, choose your partners with care; use condoms for anal sex; and consider pre-exposure prophylaxis with anti-HIV drugs (PrEP). With proper attention to sexual safety, you can still have a vibrant and rewarding sex life without HIV. Best of luck in those endeavors!

I hope this information is helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD

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23 months ago

Thanks you for your answer sir, my concerns about HIV have been greatly reduced thanks to you. but there are a few questions on my mind:

1) I was very stressed and sleepless in all the blood tests I had done, will this affect the test result?

2) I experienced a lot of petechiae during the active infection period, which I think is due to platelet destruction. If I was infected with HIV virus, would this cause antibody delay?

3)lupus, lichen planus, psoriasis, Crohn's disease In such cases, is the antibody delayed? In cases where it is delayed, is the antigen detected?

4)My ARS-like symptoms lasted for more than 2 months and my skin rash first appeared in red, pink color, remained that way for a very long time, then turned into white pus then it disappeared. Does this look like hsv2 infection?

5)I have had small blisters on the head of my penis for about 4 months (maybe I had them for years and didn't notice), they look just like Pearly penis papules and there is no pain or soreness. If it were genital herpes, wouldn't it disappear or change after a certain period of time?

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

23 months ago

1,3. There are NO medical conditions, no drugs, and no known emotional or psychological issues that have any effect on reliability of HIV test results.

2. Petechiae alone would never be the only symptom or sign of HIV, and no platelet abnormality would affect test results, which prove you do not have HIV.

4. No, this does not suggest HIV2; and your test shows you do not have HIV2 (as well as HIV1).

5. This is an entirely different question. I'll just say that herpes lesions never persist without change more than a few days.

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23 months ago

Doc. I found an old forum post from 2015. After reading the posts on the forum, I started to get really scared.

https://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=59244.0

If you don't want to read forum let me summarize:

''He young man living in California took an HIV RNA test at the 8th week after sexual intercourse, then the Oraquick tests performed at the 10th and 12th weeks were also negative, but when his symptoms started to increase, he took an ELISA test a few days later. Then the result became clear. was positive, then the confirmation was positive. (by the way, he experienced symptoms in the 2nd week after sexual intercourse) and his doctor already told him to have it done in the 6th month. He had a combo test in the first week and then never had it again''.

This incident scared me so much. How can the HIV RNA test be wrong? And he only had the combo ag/ab test in the first week, but all the tests I have done are combo ag/ab tests. Do you think I should wait until the 6th month for this exceptional situation?

Thank you again for your service and answers. Also, I used translation, so there may be spelling errors, sorry.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

23 months ago

It is well known that the oral fluids test (Oraquick) never becomes positive in 2-5% of HIV infected persons, so that's not an issue. And it is well known the RNA test misses some cases at 14 days. I cannot comment on the veracity of that report, but I would disregard any and all reports by individuals describing their personal experiences. They so often are wrong, either intentionally misleading or misunderstanding, for example entirely forgetting a high risk exposure (e.g. from drugs or alcohol) or not understanding that an apparently monogamous partner actually was at high risk. Reviewing individual stories is the absolute worse way to gain medical information, especially when the topic has been anxiety producing or worrying. My advice is that you cease continued online searching: like most anxious persons, you obviously are being drawn to information that inflames your fears.

Maybe it also will help you to know that in the nearly 20 years of this and our preceding forum, with thousands of questions worried about a possible HIV exposure, nobody has yet reported they eventually tested positive. You are not going to be the first!

That completes the two follow-up exchanges included with each question and so ends this thread. Please do not return with more questions about this exposure and your concerns about your test results. But I'll make a deal with you: in the event that someday you test HIV positive and would like to inform us and other forum users of your experience, we will wave the posting fee!

I do hope the discussion has been helpful. Best wishes and stay safe.

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